He reached down on the inside of the wall and felt another man put a stick in his hand. At the other end, twine had been looped through the handle of a pitcher and tied to the stick. He raised the stick over his head, moved it to his other hand, lowered it and dipped the pitcher in the moat. When it was full, he lifted it back to the inside of the wall where the pitcher was emptied into a bucket.
It was all for show. If they really were running short of water, Kevin would use the hidden door to haul it in, buckets at a time during the night. But in the daylight, Kevin didn't want the Fergusons to know he knew about the traitor or that they knew about the doors. Besides, Connor wanted to watch for Rachel. Each time he dipped the pitcher in the water, Connor watched the woods for a signal from Rachel. There was nothing.
*
The thirteen-year old Ferguson boy was tired. His laird woke him early in the morning and made him mount a horse. Then the laird sat a half-dead woman in the boy's lap and told him to take her north where no one would find her. The boy hadn't even had his morning meal.
She was heavy and it was a struggle to hold her upright, but he was afraid of what his laird would do if he did not obey, so he kept going. By noon, he figured she was dead. She hadn't made a single sound. By late afternoon, he was exhausted, so he found a large rock, guided his horse to the top, got down and pulled the woman to the ground. Then he sat down and watched her for a while. She did not move.
Her skin was still warm when he lifted her skirt hoping to get a good look, but his attention was drawn to the dagger strapped to her leg instead. He took the dagger, lowered her skirt and glanced around. He wanted another look, but he sure didn't want to get caught by one of the other clans. At length, he stood up and with his foot; shoved her off the top of the rock and watched her body roll until it hit the bottom.
Then he sat down again to think. What he really wanted to do was go home. There would be a war and he didn't want to miss it. Still, if he went back too soon, his laird might think he didn't take the woman far enough away.
*
Rachel was lying flat on her back with her head turned to one side. She hurt nearly everywhere, but dared not move. Someone was watching her; she could feel it. The sun was almost down, her head hurt and her eyes wouldn't focus. She could see green and gray splotches, but nothing was clear. Then everything went black again.